AMDA

Transitions between care settings are getting more scrutiny than ever before. So thank goodness for new guidelines designed to help smooth them out. Still, we need all the help we can when it comes to improving communication among fellow caregivers. And I have proof.

Long-term care providers are being asked to reduce the use of antipsychotic medications among residents by 25% by the end of 2015, and 30% by the end of 2016. Providers have already achieved a 17.1% reduction since 2011.

AMDA to feds: Will assisted living be excluded from plan to reimburse chronic care services? ... People with rare type AB blood have doubled risk of cognitive decline, researchers say ... Grieving older people are more at risk for infections than younger people, research shows

MDI Achieve/MatrixCare announced it will incorporate clinical practice guidelines and the "Know-It-All" series from the leading medical directors association into its Clinical Coach™ and Clinical Guardian™ clinical decision support products. The company's partner will be AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.

Q: What motivated the recent decision to extend AMDA membership to nurse practitioners?
A: The last set of stats that I saw, about 25% of visits in nursing homes are done by nurse practitioners. This trend has been increasing over the last four to six years. We understand that in certain parts of the country, physicians might not be readily available. My take is it doesn't really matter who does the work, as long as someone qualified is providing the services.

The government report on adverse events in post-acute care that was released yesterday shines a light on issues of real concern. However, as long-term care stakeholders and regulators consider the implications of the report and ways to reduce the number of adverse events, I'd suggest a companion report to be read alongside it: "Is Excessive Paperwork in Care Homes Undermining Care for Older People?"

A bill in the House of Representatives would create a safe harbor system to reduce malpractice lawsuits against Medicare and Medicaid providers, and it would give providers the right to request state-level suits move to federal court.

The American Medical Directors Association's annual conference takes place Thursday through March 2 in Nashville. Billed as the "premier" medicine conference for post-acute and long-term care, the theme this year is "Creating Harmony in Long Term Care."

Long-term care providers will learn how to better collaborate with hospice staff and colleagues in a hospice setting during a special webcast on Thursday. Alva S. Baker III, M.D., CMD, and Jeffrey Burl, M.D., CMD, will present "The Ins and Outs of Hospice in the Nursing Home" from 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

The US Food and Drug Administration recently requested that practitioners stop prescribing combination prescription pain medications that have more than 325 mg of acetaminophen per tablet, capsule, etc., due to the risk of liver damage. This is a good thing.

Doctors practicing in long-term care settings should hone certain skills identified by leading stakeholders in order to produce higher quality outcomes, according to a prominent physician association. The list of competencies for physicians in post-acute and long-term care medicine was released Monday by AMDA-Dedicated to Long-Term Care (formerly the American Medical Directors Association).

Since the adoption of health information technology has varied between acute and long-term care settings, that fact should be reflected in quality reporting requirements for physicians, a prominent association of medical directors says.

The American Medical Directors Association has joined with ABIM Foundation's Choosing Wisely® campaign to promote discussions between healthcare providers and patients for what medical tests or procedures may be unnecessary.

Nearly one in seven nursing home residents is now under the age of 65, and the number could rise. That's creating challenges for caregiving staffs that could blossom into big problems — if caregivers don't adapt better. Luckily, there's help.

The top professional association of long-term care physicians and medical directors has reiterated its commitment to reducing the use of antipsychotics for dementia care. It did so Tuesday, in response to a recent report that criticized prescribing practices.

Long-term operators are cheering that Congress averted cutting Medicare payments through sequestration this week, and they're glad that another one-year postponement of physician pay cuts didn't come at their expense.

In light of recent allegations of gross upcoding in therapy circles, an upcoming webcast on appropriate patient evaluation and management documentation could prove popular. Alva Baker, M.D., CMD, who has been a medical director for 29 years, will examine the relationships between E/M documentation and coding and billing. Topics within the webcast include a review of the billing codes for services provided to residents in the long-term care setting, as well as the E/M documentation system. The event will take place from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Thursday. It is sponsored by the American Medical Directors Association.